Spanish spinach and chickpeas (espinacas con garbanzos) is a must-try Andalusian dish that's easy to make at home. This traditional spinach and chickpea stew is popular in Seville, Spain where it's served in all the local tapas bars. It's super simple and quick to prepare -- on the table in only 30 minutes!
It's one of those dishes that you keep thinking about long after you've taken the last bite.
I first ordered espinacas con garbanzos in Seville, convinced by a friend that this simple sounding spinach and chickpea stew was a Spanish culinary masterpiece. Served piping hot, it was as comforting as any homemade stew should be, and I immediately understood her obsession.
Watch how to make espinacas con garbanzos here (1 minute)
Espinacas con garbanzos are a traditional tapa in Seville, especially popular during the chilly winter months and during lent.But the dish's history goes far beyond Andalusia. Spinach comes from Ancient Persia (modern Iran), where Arab traders got their hands on it and eventually introduced it to the Mediterranean. There are records of spinach being a popular Spanish vegetable by the end of the 12th century, and it was an important ingredient in Moorish and Sephardic Jewish cuisine in Spain.
Chickpeas (also called garbanzos) originally came from the Middle East as well and made their way into the Spanish kitchen by way of the Phoenicians. Their importance in Spanish cuisine is paramount, and they are a primary ingredient in many popular Spanish dishes, such as the delicious Cocido Madrileño.
This recipe for espinacas con garbanzos strays a wee bit from the traditional version, but the addition of tomato and almonds enhances the heartiness of the dish in my humble opinion.
The best part? This is easily a 30-minute meal, and a healthy, filling, and delicious one at that.
Key Ingredients
Key Ingredients: Spinach, chickpeas, stale bread, Marcona almonds, tomato sauce, sherry vinegar, olive oil, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, black pepper, and minced garlic.
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
- Spinach: While I wouldn't recommend substituting spinach (it is spinach and chickpea stew, after all!) if you must I would try this with another leafy green such as kale or chard. Both versions will be delicious (though not quite the same!).
- Chickpeas: Use great quality chickpeas that aren't too mushy (if canned/jarred).
- Almonds: Marcona almonds have a wonderful flavor for this dish, but any almonds will do in a pinch.
- Sherry vinegar: Substitute red wine vinegar if you must.
Spinach and Chickpeas: Step by Step
Steps 1-2: This recipe is SO EASY! Start by sautéing the spinach in a bit of olive oil until wilted and reserve.
Steps 3-4: Then add another couple of tablespoons of olive oil to the pan and brown the bread cubes, minced garlic, all spices, and almonds.
Steps 5-6: Put the browned bread and almonds into the blender and blend until you have a paste.
Steps 7-8: Add the drained chickpeas, almond paste, and tomato sauce to the pan and mix until combined.
Step 9: Finally, add the spinach back to the pan and stir until fully combined. Serve in small clay bowls and enjoy!
Recipe Tips & FAQs
Yes! Chickpeas and garbanzo beans are the same food. Chickpeas is the English word for garbanzos (which is Spanish). But we've adapted the Spanish name in English as well, leaving us with two options.
In Spain, this is often served as a tapa, which means you'd have another couple of dishes along with it to make a full meal. You can serve anything you'd like -- I especially like to serve Spanish ham croquettes and my favorite marinated carrots.
Yes! This Spanish spinach and chickpea stew is naturally vegan. It's one of my favorite vegetarian and vegan tapas.
You can make this in advance and it will last up to four days in the fridge (and two months in the freezer). Like most stews, the flavor gets even better after resting.
Serving Suggestions
I like to serve my espinacas con garbanzos as part of a tapas feast (but you can also serve it as a side dish to roasted meat). Some of my favorite tapas to go with it are:
- Pinchos morunos (spiced pork skewers)
- Marinated carrots
- Gambas al ajillo pintxos (garlic shrimp skewers)
- Tortilla de patatas
- Chorizo a la sidra
- Salt cod croquettes
- Fried eggplant and honey
- Salmorejo
- Baked tuna empanada
- Spanish Style Hummus
More Delicious Spanish Stews
- Spanish Shrimp with Chickpeas: I love this delicious combination of chickpeas and shrimp, another Andalusian classic.
- Easy Chicken and Chorizo Stew: One of my go-to Spanish chicken stews.
- Stewed Meatballs in Almond Sauce: The almond saffron sauce with these Spanish meatballs is incredible!
Hungry for more? Sign up for my free weekly newsletter and receive a new Spanish recipe once a week! Join today and get my FREE Spanish ingredient essentials guide!
Espinacas con Garbanzos (Spinach and Chickpeas)
Ingredients
- 1 jar garbanzo beans (chickpeas) (around 500g or 18 ounces) Note: you could also soak and cook dried garbanzos for even more delicious results, but I find that good quality canned beans do the trick nearly as well.
- 10 ounces fresh spinach washed. (One large bag or around 300 grams/10 ounces).
- 2 thick slices of day old bread sourdough works well with crusts removed and cut into cubes
- 15 blanched unsalted Marcona almonds
- ¼ cup tomato sauce (60ml)
- 3 garlic cloves chopped
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoon Sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar if sherry vinegar is hard to come by
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- Ground cayenne pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon Salt (more to taste)
- Black pepper to taste
- 1 teaspoon Smoked Spanish paprika I use pimentón dulce, but you could also use pimentón picante
Instructions
- Coat a large saucepan with extra virgin olive oil (approx. 2 tbsp) and heat to medium high
- Before the oil gets too hot, add the spinach (in batches if necessary)
- Sauté the spinach until just wilted and remove to strain in a colander
- Re-coat the pan with olive oil and add in the bread cubes and raw almonds. Fry until the bread and almonds are browned and crispy on each side
- Add the chopped garlic, cumin, cayenne and black pepper and sauté for a couple of minutes, until the garlic is fragrant and turning brown
- Transfer the ingredients to a blender/food processor and add the sherry vinegar
- Blend the ingredients together until you have a thick paste (you can add a few tablespoons of water if needed to blend easier, but don't over blend and make it gooey)
- Return the paste to the saucepan and add your garbanzo beans and tomato sauce
- Stir gently until the chickpeas are fully coated by the sauce and add a bit of water to thin things out
- Add the spinach and stir gently until it is evenly incorporated and hot
- Season with salt and pepper
- Once plated, drizzle a swirl of extra virgin olive oil on top of each dish, then sprinkle a small amount of smoked Spanish paprika on top
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Spinach: If you prefer, you can substitute the spinach for kale or chard.Â
- Chickpeas: Use great quality chickpeas that aren't too mushy (if canned/jarred).
- Almonds: Marcona almonds have a wonderful flavor for this dish, but any almonds will do in a pinch.
- Sherry vinegar: Substitute red wine vinegar if you must.
- Lasts up to four days in the fridge.Â
- You can freeze for up to two months.
Nutrition
Update Notice: This recipe was originally published on August 17, 2014. It was republished with new photos and text on February 21, 2021.
This delicious spinach and chickpea stew is best served as a tapa or a first course in handmade cazuelas (clay dishes). You can serve some fried bread as a garnish, but I honestly think it's perfect on its own!
Will you be trying espinacas con garbanzos for your next tapas evening?
If you make my spinach and chickpeas recipe, please let me know how it turned out in the comments!
Hilary Hughes
Just returned from a week in Malaga, Holy Week. This dish was my favourite tapas and I was keen to try it myself. My variation was to add tin of chopped toms to loosen it up and to tuck in big chunk s of cod loin (8mins to cook) at the end. Delicious!
MOLLIE
I have made this recipe for lunch, I served it with a breast of chicken because my husband thinks he has done something wrong if I don't feed him meat at least twice a day, He also has a blood problem which stops him eating too much spinach so I substituted it with half tenderstem broccoli, It was delicious, My only comment was that for something called a stew it was quite dry. Please tell me if I did something wrongly.
Mollie
Katy
This is delicious! Not had it before but wanted to try it for a vegan tapas night. Really tasty and easy to do. I found I needed to add quite a bit of water to make my paste but guess it just depends on type of bread, how much oil used etc. Very happy I have leftovers 🙂
David Tatlock
My encounter with garbanzos and espicana(s) was at the tapa place across from El Corte Ingles, me refiere a la Campana, in Seville. 1975. Many, but many tapas.
Wendy Loxley
New to this site. This recipe was so easy but amazingly delicious and creamy. I served it with sausages. Will defo add to my repertoire
IW
Great recipe! Delicious and healthy, and so easy!
Anne
Hi
I just made the Espinacas con Garbanzos (Spinach and Chickpeas) and it was delicious. Thanks you very much
best rgds
Anne
Anne
Hi! This looks delicious - is there any way to do without a blender? Do you think I could mash up by hand?
Lauren Aloise
Try a mortar and pestle!
Bill Martin
From California but have lived here in southern Spain for 22 years, It is NOT just a Sevilla tapa it is all over Andalucia......typically things that become well-known or get praise automatically Sevilla gets the credit.... need to travel more and get more background....but you´re right!! It´s a wonderful dish!
Living in Jaén the actual #1 producer of extra virgin olive Oil in the world (40%).... Int´l Olive Oil expo here every May!
Val
Just returned from Sevilla and this dish was amazing
Imogen
Hi. I am going away with friends on the weekend and we have a Europe theme for a shared meal on Saturday night. Has anyone experience of freezing this dish. I was thinking I could make it ahead of weekend without spinach, freeze it letting it defrost slowly from Friday night and then add wilted spinach when I reheat Saturday night. Alternatively I could ditch freezing and make without spinach Friday morning and add wilted spinach Saturday. Sorry to be so wordy but I would be grateful for your opinion
Lauren Aloise
I haven't tried doing this but I can imagine it would work! My mother in law freezes the dish (spinach and all) - but I think making the spinach at the last minute is key for top presentation.
Bonnie
This looks amazing and I want to make it for a tapas party next week. The ingredients for the recipe say 1 tsp of cumin and cayenne "to taste" however the video indicates 1 tbsp of cumin and 1 tsp of cayenne. Can you please clarify? Thanks!
Lauren Aloise
I prefer to add less cumin - but it's also to taste! My husband likes more towards 1T (start with 1t and see what you think). As for the cayenne, it's totally optional, but I like 1t as a like a kick of spice!
Jes P
This recipe looks and sounds amazing!! I decided to make this dish for a Spanish potluck at my son's school this week, but just remembered they are totally NUT FREE. Help! I still want to make it, but is there anything I can use in place of the almonds or do you think it would be best just to leave them out? I realize I could just use another recipe, but I already got all of the ingredients and yours sounds the most delicious by far! THANKS!! 🙂
Lauren Aloise
Hi Jes- not sure if this comes too late, but you could still make it without the nuts! Add some extra breadcrumbs if you like!
Jes
Not too late actually - They rescheduled it to tomorrow. Thanks for your response!! I'll just add more bread as you mentioned. Can't wait to try it! 🙂
Lauren Aloise
Hope it's a hit!
Jes P
Oh, it definitely was! I made 5x the recipe and it worked out perfectly because I was able to save some for myself for later. I might get into it again tonight even! Soooo yummy. Thanks for the awesome recipe!! 🙂
Hannah
This was so yummy! I've been searching for vegan Spanish recipes. Thank you!
William Smith
Hi, Thanks for sharing this great recipe.
I have a query related to this one. Can you please clarify the term 'medium-high heat'? please be specific with the temperature.
Albert Bevia
One of my favorites dishes, so simple yet loaded with so much flavor, love your version of this classic
Lauren Aloise
Thanks Albert!
Donna
Made this today and it was delicious. I never thought the ground almonds and bread crumbs would add such flavour. Delicious!
Lauren Aloise
Right?! It is truly one of my favorites!